Acute Care Clinic / Triage Nurse

Speak with our Triage Nurse

Hours

Mo,Tu,Th,Fr: 8am-4pmWed: 9am-4pm

The ACC schedule fills quickly. Calling early is highly encouraged.

Patients who present to the Student Health Center with urgent/emergent medical issues will be referred to UTER. Do not delay definitive care of urgent/emergent medical issues by first coming to the Student Health Center. Patients seeking care for stable, chronic or longstanding medical conditions should schedule in one of the Health Center’s other service areas. Click on this link to see a listing of our other service areas: Clinics and Services.

Evaluation times in the ACC are scheduled for the same day and only by first speaking with our Triage Nurse. All patients who present to the Health Center seeking care without an appointment must first be evaluated by the Triage Nurse. To avoid a lengthy wait, an initial phone call for Triage Assessment is encouraged. Additionally, a telephone assessment could save you from having to make multiple trips to the Health Center to be seen by a Provider.

Eligibility Verification

Eligibility to utilize the services of the ACC and Triage Nurse are the same as for the remainder of the Student Health Center. However, students who have never been seen as a patient at the UT Student Health Center or those who are currently carrying fewer than 9 credit hours must first receive verification of their eligibility status and be entered into our electronic medical record system. For these purposes, you must first speak with a clinic Receptionist or call: 865-974-3648.

Use of Triage and the ACC

Patients using Triage and the ACC are seen based on their triaged level of acuteness. A limited number of ACC evaluation times are available each day. Once the ACC is full and no other appointments are available at the Health Center for same day care, our staff will assist patients in obtaining a subsequent appointment or direct patients to the UT Medical Center Emergency Room (UTER).

Patients who present to the Student Health Center with urgent/emergent medical issues will be referred to UTER. Transportation to UTER is dependent on a patient’s condition, either by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) or a Privately Owned Vehicle (POV), and is not a Health Center provided/covered service.

Immediate health problems like Chest Pain, Difficulty Breathing, Head Injury with symptoms, Headache with Fever and Stiff Neck or Unexplained Rash, Abdominal Pain lasting more than two hours, Persistent Vomiting, Fever >103 F Unrelieved with Oral Hydration and Fever-Reducing Medication, or Severe Pain of Any Kind are of such a potentially serious nature that immediate evaluation through an Emergency Room is the safest approach to your care.

Patients seeking care for stable, chronic or longstanding medical conditions should schedule in one of the Health Center’s other service areas. You may schedule an appointment with those clinics by using the Online Scheduling/Student Health Portal or by speaking with an Appointment Clerk at 865-974-3648.

If you sense that you have a pressing medical problem which should not wait to be evaluated in one of our other clinics by appointment, and it does not rise to the level of a medical emergency, the ACC may be right for your concern. Acute care problems could include recent acute injuries or minor lacerations, acute illnesses with symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea, fever with body temperatures less than 103 F, mild to moderate pain related to an illness or injury, etc…. Our Triage Nurse can assess your condition and assist you in appropriate scheduling.

Assessments for ADD/ADHD are not performed in the ACC and refills on ADD/ADHD medications are not provided through the ACC. Additional information regarding initial assessment for ADD/ADHD and/or arrangements for treatment of ADD/ADHD may be obtained through the Student Counseling Center at: (http://counselingcenter.utk.edu/) or by calling 865-974-2196.

STUDENT HEALTH CENTER HOURS

M, Tu, Th, F: 8am-5pm
Wed: 9am-5pm

Appointments: (865) 974-3648

Drop-in & Telephone Triage ends at 4pm.See below for After-hours care. Center is closed when the University is administratively closed.